cancer treatment at 89? would you go ahead?

[nightcat]

Awful dilemma, my dad is quite frail and nearly 89 and has been diagnosed with skin cancer that looks like it may have spread. Dr said operate + chemo, I wasn't there to ask all the questions, but I can't say that he would make it through in his general state of health and he is not keen either (mentally he is 100% with it, but very frail).
Does anyone have experience of thit type of treatment post 80? Have they made it thorugh or is it better to leave it be?

Sorry, reconsidered and the above may seem insensitive.

I was thinking in the context of my elderly GM who recently went through a load of intimate exams she didn't understand She said she wanted to go ahead and this put my dad and uncle in a really difficult position.

Sorry.

All I can say is that a father of a friend is being treated for this and is 85- treatment started at 80-ish. he i s getting better and without the treatment- it was on his head- it would have spread to his eyes etc.

You need to talk to dr about how it will progreess if not treated, what the prognosis is, and what are the chances of a cure.

I'm so sorry, nightcat. I agree with those who say its important (for you as well as your Dad) to get more info. It so depends on what sort of skin cancer, what sort of prognosis with or without treatment, what sort of surgery....I'd need all those answers, if it were me, I think.

My Dad had surgery (no chemo, but radiotherapy implant) for prostate cancer at 80. He is fit and well now at 84, but he had a strong heart, and was physically fit, at 80. For him, it was definitely the right choice - he still travels, has recently written a book, lives life to the full. But I can see that in many cases, it would not have been the right choice - a frailer person, a less aggressive cancer, etc.

I wish you much luck with finding out more, and peace with the decisions for both you and your Dad.

My paternal grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer in her late 80s. She did not want an operation or chemotherapy, and lived out her life (another year) in a nursing home with excellent palliative care.

She was a very strong-minded and uncomplaining person.

My great aunt was also diagnosed with bladder cancer aged 91 - no treatment apart from palliative to keep her UTIs under control - she died at 93.

I think if it were me I would take the surgery if it wasn't too invasive but refuse the chemo, if it were me, but I do know that having the surgery without the chemo runs the risk of secondaries popping up elsewhere. Still, at 89 and frail, I'd rather not wilfully poison myself.

Me personally, no under our circumstances.

We (and my mum) had to discuss similar moral dilemmas with our consultant.

But...
If it's not a hugely stressful op, then perhaps. Don't know much about skin cancer but Mum's op would was highly invasive. She didn't want to go through it again.

Sorry, it's such a horrible thing to have to think about.

It is amazing what fantastic doctors and technology can do so talk and talk to your consultant about it.

Thank you all again, the op would most likely be very invasive, still awg some results but he would either lose his eye to op or cancer.
I can't see him going through chemo unless palliative with minimal side effects. What I find hard to understand is that the dr apparently said that w/o the op he would be worse off.

Will know more in about couple of weeks.
Thank you all again for your advice.

OP- isn't it about quality of lfe? whether that is short or long?
If you dad was going to be in great pain and live for ages without the op, then maybe he should have it. If the odds of recovery are slim, or the cancer fast growing, then maybe no treatment.

It's his decision but both of you should be fully informed of what will happen next, with or without ops and chemo.

Even palliative chemo (which my MOL is having for ovarian cancer) has a lot of side effects, IME. MOL is often very weak and tired from the chemo rather than the cancer, and the chemo has done terrible things to her teeth.

Its a very personal decision, but I have to say I've just been through chemo at age 55 and frankly at 89 I think I'd say no and jus want palliative care. It is doable at 55 but its not easy. At 85 I think I'd think hard about the quality of life for a shorter period, myself.

Sorry - it feels horrible to type this. And its difficult to know how I'd really feel at 89.

So sorry about your dad, I can understand what you are going through. My sister is dying, we said no chemotherapy but they gave it to her without our consent in tablet form. (long story) Our pain is unimaginable. Scroll down on this article to find out what is chemotherapy? www.naturalnews.com/029699_chemotherapy_Rich_Cronin.html

www.NaturalNews.com/030034_cancer_patients_screening.html

Thanks teatotal, I have done a fair bit of reading re cancer treatments and support my dad in not agreeing to chemo, I feel it's a right decision for him.
We are going to try natural stuff but not to the extreme, eg can't do full blown Gerson's as he doesn't have full-time one-2-one.

But I have just found out that he was having daily iron-multivit and we are stopping this. I am also adding turmeric and flaxseeds and selenium. In his case we are not expecting to win this battle, but I hope that we won't make his discomfort levels worse by going for extensive surgery or chemo with its side effects. One dr we knew recently died of cancer and he also declined chemo.

Need more help from the wise MNet again.

After my dad declined invasive op & chemo, the mri result shows that the sore hasn't spread inwards, although it's still threatenning the eye :(

Another dr was in fact quite shocked that chemo or invasive op was even mentioned (and glad that my dad had declined) and he says that radiotherapy would be least invasive and might even save the eye.

Has anyone got experience of just radiotherapy on skin cancer that looks like open sore - and has it helped?

I would obviously like to know whether radio will not make it into a bigger sore. Will be talking to drs again next week myself so I will ask them too.

Anyone with experience of this please?

Hi nightcat - I used to plan radiotherapy round the eye, and gmil had a few places on her face and eye treated with it.

It is a really easy treatment - usually 10 treatments spread over 2-3 weeks, very effective, and quickly turns the sore to a scab then to normal skin. only side effect is a bit of reddening round the treated bit

OMG, thank you CMOT, sounds very positive then?
Are you saying even if it's like an ulcer?
My dad was really impressed when dr told him they might save the eye..

Forgot to ask, can there be any deeper damage from radio? Or is it set to the skin depth only?
You clever thing

glad to hear that a non invasive treatment is on the horizon for your Dad nightcat. :)

nightcat my experience of radiotherapy relates to breast rather than skin cancer. Nevertheless, with any treatment, there is an element of risk. However, the margins they operate to are very very tight indeed, they check and re-check the calculations before treatment commences and if there is any concern about being too close to those margins, they'll send your father to be re-measured. As its on his face, he may need to wear a specially created mask to protect other areas which are not to be treated.

The skin can get sore but the radiotherapists will give you good advice on to how to handle that. Please check with them before using any type of product on the face, regardless of how safe you think it is. For example, I was only permitted to wash with Simple soap and to use aqueous cream or 100% aloe vera gel on my skin during the 6 weeks of treatment. In addition, your father may suffer from fatigue and will need to ensure he hydrates well especially on the day of treatment. Ill-effects can take a few weeks to fade away afterwards, so he shouldn't worry if the suntan and tiredness continue after treatment has ended.

I hope this proves to be a good option for your father and you both have my very best wishes.

thank you MC, sorry you have a personal experience though, his treatment is supposed to be for 5 days and he will be admitted as travelling daily would be harder to do

good advice re skin washing, didn't think of that, would you believe, my dad did try aloe product before but found it was burning/itching, so will need to try something else

Most skin cancers that aren't melanoma look like ulcers, so yes.

He'll be having superficial radiotherapy that only treats to a few mm deep, and is very different to radiotherapy given for breast cancer in that it really only treats a small volume, and so things like fatigue (apart from travelling or being in hospital) don't apply. The very low energy means that it doesn't do any damage elsewhere, although sometimes it could cause a cataract when very, very close to the eye - but even then eye shields (which are like metal contact lens things) can be used.

Gmil had treatment when she was 97, and her only complaint was they wouldn't give her an eyelift

Very glad to hear there are alternatives for your Dad, nightcat - and just goes to show how valuable second opinions can be! I'm sorry you were both put through the angst of the first opinion

I know nothing about radiotherapy, except that essentially thats what my father had for his prostate cancer - with exceptionally good results. It did make him a bit tired, but his went on for months. Wishing your Dad well.

x-post with CMOT - good news! And, CMOT, I think your gmil would have got on famously with my (now deceased, at 102) gm...

CMOT, a big thank you on behalf of my dad too
:)
Ellie, you know, when my dad had reconciled himself to no op/no chemo after the first round of drs, anything less drastic in a strange way feels like good news.
Not out of the woods yet of course.
Thank you all, any skin care advice still welcome.

She was a very special lady - immaculate to the end, and had just started doing computer lessons before she died.

Your dad had brachytherapy iirc Elibean ? It's my special field